Flying With Wheels
by Seiberwing
Summary: After coming back from the dead, Demolishor decides to go ahead and ask the big questions. Contains slash.


Cursory disclaimer: The Transformers and all characters herein do not belong to me.

**Flying with Wheels**

Death was really very liberating.

Not that he'd recommend it to anyone he particularly liked. Having your body ripped apart by a wave of energon wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world. But it did give him a fresh outlook on things. All his prior doubts about what they were doing had gone out the window. His new body was better, stronger, and he had a whole new attitude to go with it.

Before, he'd beenand he was ashamed to admit this, even to himselfafraid. Afraid of his feelings towards the enemy, afraid of his own weakness, afraid that, somehow, he was doing the wrong thing. Now everything made a lot more sense. He was Demolisher, most powerful of the Decepticons, and he wasn't afraid of nothing or nobody. Especially not himself.

And certainly not Snowcat.

Their relationship back on Earth's moon had always been rather casual, what the humans might have called "dating". Just a few encounters now and then and nothing said about it the next morning. If the war had gone on longer, they might have developed into something more, but it didn't. After Megatron disappeared, they'd separated and anything they'd had before fizzled out amidst the pressures of peace.

But now they were Decepticons again. For real this time, not just pretenders with purple insignias. Now, there seemed to be no reason why not.

"_What?_"

"Just answer me yes or no."

"Where in the name of Unicron's left horn did that come from?"

Demolisher growled and clenched his fist. He should have known Snowcat would be too immature for something like this. It had been a stupid idea, anyway.

Well, he'd tried. Demolisher turned around and started walking away. "Look, just forget I said anything."

Snowcat grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "I mean, sure, of course I will," he went on, "but sheesh! You gotta give a guy some warning before you spring something like that on me."

"Wait, what?"

"Did Megatron forget to give you audio sensors? I said yes."

Demolisher stood still, a bit stunned. He hadn't actually been planning on Snowcat agreeing to it. All his considerations about the matter had been how to get the ATV to stop making fun of him afterwards.

"Oh. Okay."

There was a moment of 'now what?' before Demolisher asked, "So, should we go outside or something?" Personal quarters were not high on Megatron's list of priorities. They had their recharge compartments, and it wasn't as if they had any other possessions to store away.

"Ah ha!" Snowcat lifted a finger in inspiration. "I know just the spot." He grabbed Demolisher's hand and dragged him off down the hall.

"Wait, where are we going?" asked Demolisher as he tried to keep up.

"A little hidey hole I found the last time I got lost. Hurry up, groundkisser!"

"Don't 'groundkisser' me, you had wheels before I did. And slow down!"

They came to an opening in the floor. Snowcat jumped down it, and then gestured eagerly for Demolisher to follow. Demolisher climbed down a bit more cautiously while his companion shifted around impatiently. No sooner did his feet touch the floor then Snowcat pulled him onward again.

The ATV paused again at a split in the passageway and Demolisher ran into his back in a cartoonesque fashion. Snowcat drew an odd pattern in the air with his finger and muttered to himself.

"I went here, then down here, then around that corner—ah! To the left."

They went on, deeper into the bowels of Unicron. At least, that's what it felt like to Demolisher. For all he knew, they could be going around in circles or five steps from Megatron's throne room. He just hoped Snowcat knew where they was going and they didn't wind up spending the next hour looking for the way out.

Finally, Snowcat stopped at what was, to all appearances, a dead end.

"Here we are." He walked over to the wall and disappeared. Demolisher was left alone and confused for a moment before Snowcat poked his head back out. "Hey, you coming?"

He'd slipped into a narrow passageway between where two walls converged, nearly impossible to find unless you were looking for it. Demolisher followed him inside, his wide truck bed scraping the walls. They climbed over a low ledgethis was starting to feel like an obstacle courseand finally reached a small, dimly lit chamber. Snowcat gestured at it with a showman's flourish.

"Ta da!"

It was definitely Snowcat's spot. Demolisher could tell, because it was covered in stuff. There was really no other word for it.

Random shards of metal in varying colors were scattered around, perhaps souvenirs from previous battles, perhaps just scrap. Snowcat's ski poles were lying on the floor next to what looked like a Battle Ravage's tail. Leaning in the corner was what looked like one of those knockoff swords the Autobots had made with the tip broken off. Demolisher wasn't sure where he'd gotten it, but wasn't that surprised that it was there. Snowcat had always been a bit of a junk collector.

"And here's the best part." Snowcat walked to the other side of the room and removed a small section of the wall. He extracted a thin tube, then held it between his last two fingers as he opened a small panel in his wrist and tugged out a similar tube. He connected the tubes and held up his attached arm. "Energon on tap."

He held out a second tube. "Thirsty?"

Demolisher took the tube, but didn't attach it just yet. "And Megatron is okay with this?"

"He doesn't know or he doesn't care, either way, he hasn't said anything. I figure our energon situation isn't so bad that two of his best soldiers can't afford to enjoy themselves once in a while."

Demolisher attached the tube and sat down next to Snowcat on a raised portion of floor.

He slipped his hand into Snowcat's as they let Unicron's life-fluid flow into their systems, bringing with it a headiness reminiscent of tainted energon.

"What's it like?" Snowcat asked abruptly.

"What's what like?"

"You know…" Snowcat waved a hand around aimlessly, trying to describe an abstract concept. "Being corporeally handicapped."

Demolisher shrugged. "I don't remember much. It's sort of a blur."

"I heard that you see this big glow, like Primus"

"I said, I don't remember anything," Demolisher snapped. "And I don't want to talk about it." He pressed a fist against Snowcat's facemask, pinning his head to the wall. "I could let you see for yourself. Maybe Megatron will reformat you into something a bit less silly this time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Snowcat, unfazed. He tried to remove Demolisher's fist from his forehead, but even with both hands he couldn't budge the stronger Decepticon' s arm. Demolisher eased up on the pressure, then thumped Snowcat's head back against the wall.

"You have _skis_."

"Are you dissing the skis? Don't be dissing my skis."

Actually, his new alt-mode wasn't that bad, just unfamiliar. Physical form wasn't as much an identifying issue for transformers as it was with organics. A spark could be placed in a new body, and a simple paint job could be changed within minutes.

However, any change takes getting used to. Demolisher had surprised himself the first time he'd transformed by immediately accelerating and going much faster than he'd expected. He'd adjusted to himself eventually, though, and he would adjust to Snowcat too.

Something about that mask was bugging him though, although he wasn't quite sure why. He tapped it with a forefinger.

"Does this thing come off?"

"Dunno. I never tried to take it off before. Might."

Demolisher ran his fingers along the sides of Snowcat's head, searching for some hidden clasp. Snowcat let him explore his face, not really caring whether Demolisher found what he was looking for or not. He just enjoyed the attention.

This was much better; this was how it was supposed to be. Demolisher had been acting so _weird _before. Caring about squishies and Auto-brats, what the heck? It was the Autobots who were to blame, he was sure of it. They all had some kind of freaky compassion virus and Demolisher had caught it from being around them so much.

One hell of a cure, though. Snowcat tilted his head up as Demolisher felt around under his chin. He winced and yelped as the truck scraped too roughly against a sensitive area.

"Ow! Watch where you're poking around, lugnut."

"Sorry."

"Clumsy ape."

"Annoying junk-eating scavenger."

"Minicon skidplate polisher."

This was proper, too. Threats and banter were a healthy part of a Decepticon relationship. If he wanted to be tender and mushy, he'd join the Autobots. Flowers, bah. A nice evening spent blowing things up, now that was romantic.

The first two fingers on Demolisher's left hand found a thin crevice along the side of Snowcat's head, running down the slight bulge over his audio sensors. Snowcat pushed Demolisher's hands away and worked his own fingers into the crevice. He felt around on the other side of his head and found a similar indentation.

There were a few clicks and the mask came loose. Snowcat detangled it from the cables around his neck and set it aside. He touched his cheek, then his mouth, making sure all the important bits were still there, and then grinned at Demolisher.

"How do I look?"

Demolisher described Snowcat's face to him. He retained the same features he had as Cyclonus, but with colors that better suited his new form. Behind his mask, Snowcat's face was pale white and his optics were a glittering amethyst. On his forehead, Snowcat had a small triangular ridge that oddly paralleled the crest on Demolisher's own head, what Snowcat had called his "mohawk".

"Purple optics, huh? Cool."

Snowcat pulled the energon tube out of his arm and replaced the panel before doing the same to Demolisher. He climbed over Demolisher's legs and knelt in his lap, their spark casings almost touching. Demolisher felt a slight surge in his systems, partially from the physical aspect of being so close to Snowcat and partially from the anticipation of what they were about to do.

"So, let's find out what everyone says is so great about this bonding thing," Snowcat said, grinning as he took Demolisher's hands. Demolisher held back for the barest of moments, and then pushed all hesitation out of mind.

_What are you waiting for, idiot? You wanted to do this, so let's do this._

Sometime later, neither knew nor cared when, Snowcat sat between Demolisher's legs. His back rested against the truck's powerful chest, and his head lolled to the side. Demolisher had his arms around his partner's lower torso just below his wheels and his back against the wall.

His partner. That sounded so weird, to think of him that way. Snowcat was still the same person he was yesterday, and Demolisher was…well, the same person he was this morning, anyway.

But somehow that title just made things seem different. Snowcat, his partner. His bondmate. _His_. He really wouldn't have thought it possible.

Demolisher felt a familiar rhythmic vibration against his chest, coupled with a noise like a bag of gravel grinding around. Shifting slightly, he craned his head around to look at his partner's face. Snowcat's mouth was slightly open and his optics were offline. Yep, sleeping like a baby. A really loud and bulky baby.

_Congratulations, Demolisher. This is the dashing mech you've gotten yourself attached to. Snores when he's in recharge, yodels when he gets excited, and he's completely and utterly nuts._

As Demolisher began to ease himself out from under Snowcat, the ATV lifted his head and smiled up at him with bleary, half-lit optics.

Not grinned, not smirked, but benignly smiled. For a few very strange moments, Snowcat actually looked relatively calm and peaceful. Then he mumbled something incomprehensible and laid his head back down again.

Demolisher reached over and picked up Snowcat's mask from where it had been discarded. It was transparent from the inside but opaque to any outside viewer. Perhaps that was symbolic of something, but Demolisher didn't care to find out what. He handed it to Snowcat, implying without words that he should put it back on. Instead, Snowcat just set his mask in his lap and refolded his hands over his abdomen.

"C'mon, get up," Demolisher said, trying to push him off. They needed to get back to their recharge compartments, or someone would start looking for them. Then things might get awkward. Snowcat held on to Demolisher's hand as he tried to pull it away and put it back around his waist. The message there was clear. _I'm not going anywhere and neither are you._

"Mine," Snowcat said sleepily. Still holding Demolisher's hand, he nuzzled his head against Demolisher's chest and went back to snoring.

Demolisher gave up.Screw whoever found them like this. The other Decepticons would know about it eventually, and anyone who even thought about teasing them would be picking pieces of themselves out of the wall. He prepared his own body for recharge.

_Then again, I could do worse._


End file.
